Former NBA Player And Fellow Georgetown Prep Alum Defends Brett Kavanaugh, Kind Of

Hibbert's words could be construed as an effort to discredit claims of sex assault against the judge.

Roy Hibbert used to be one of the NBA’s leading shot blockers, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he came to the defense of one of his fellow high school alumnus. What would be surprising, though, was if Hibbert was defending Brett Kavanaugh, who just happens to be nominated to be a Supreme Court justice, against claims of sexual assault.

President Donald Trump‘s hand-picked nominee to succeed now-former high court judge Anthony Kennedy has been accused of sexually assaulting a girl when he attended the exclusive Georgetown Preparatory School (Georgetown Prep) in Maryland before graduating in 1983. The judge’s Senate confirmation hearings had been going fairly smoothly for him until the accusations by California college professor Christine Blasey Ford surfaced, implicating Kavanagh as being part of a sexist bro culture that has been described as a “free-for-all” party atmosphere “soaked” in alcohol. The allegations helped fuel Democrats’ narrative that Kavanaugh was hiding portions of his personal and professional records.

Kavanaugh would seemingly corroborate those claims of carousing when he openly referred to a “good” motto he ascribed to in high school: “What happens at Georgetown Prep, stays at Georgetown Prep.” He uttered those fateful words during a speech in 2015 before adding, “That’s been a good thing for all of us.”

MSNBC just aired this footage from a speech by Judge Kavanaugh at the Columbus School of Law from 2015

But while dozens of alumnae from Ford’s high school signed a letter supporting her claims, Hibbert took to Twitter on Wednesday to express his feelings on the ideal that Kavanaugh said he upheld at Georgetown Prep.

I graduated from Georgetown Prep '04 and on my life I've never heard the saying "What happens at Georgetown Prep stays at Georgetown Prep".

It was unclear what Hibbert, one of a small handful of what Georgetown Prep called its “notable alumni,” was trying to accomplish with his tweet. But as an African-American, it would probably be in his best interest not to support the Supreme Court nominee who has been accused of having racist tendencies and not supporting progressive initiatives such as affirmative action. (Oh, and by the way, one of his former law clerks has been accused of at least sympathizing with white supremacists after she flashed what appeared to be a white power hand signal.)

Democrats were looking to use Ford’s accusations to delay Kavanaugh’s confirmation while a would-be law enforcement investigation takes place, but that wasn’t a sure thing as of Friday morning. Ford’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee was tentatively scheduled for Monday, but the college professor issued a set of conditions that she wanted officials to agree to before she speaks.

America has already, unsuccessfully, marched down the road of confirming a Supreme Court judge accused of sexual improprieties once. (See Anita Hill for more on that.) Hibbert’s tweet could be construed as a discredit to Ford’s efforts for full disclosure surrounding the alleged past of a Supreme Court nominee that, if true, would almost certainly affect his ability to deliver a fair ruling, especially toward minorities and women in particular, while serving on the high court.